LG Chem No. 4 Among Foreign Firms in Patents Registration in Japan

South Korea's LG Chem registered the fourth most number of patents among foreign firms in Japan in 2019 with 661, according to data by the Japan Patent Office.

It had 437 patents in Japan the year before.

LG Chem trails first placer Qualcomm, Huawei, and Royal Philips.

However, LG Chem had the most in 2019 with 224, accounting for the sharpest growth rate of 51.2 percent.

Samsung Electronics, another Korean firm, was in fifth place with 411 patents, down from 565 in 2018 when it placed fourth.

Of the top 10 firms, only Huawei and Google joined LG Chem with an increased number of patent registrations last year.

Last year, Huawei had 729 registrations, up 13.2 percent from 644 in 2018, while Google had 276 patents, increasing by 35.3 percent from 204 in 2018.

The Japan Patent Office did not specify the nature of the patents, although it is assumed to be for rechargeable battery technologies.

LG Chem dislodged Panasonic of Japan as the top global provider of electric vehicle batteries, with China's CATL occupying third place.

The increase in the number of patent registrations exhibits LG Chem's effort to safeguard its intellectual property.

Since April last year, LG Chem has been involved in a legal dispute in the United States against domestic rival SK Innovation for alleged intellectual property infringement.

The entire LG Group has been aggressively dealing with its rivals in recent years.